Hunting Season
by MillaSnape
Summary: A chase across the forest. A certain blonde lost his Cosmos and, with it, his strength and powers as a Saint, being left defenseless. A certain brunette, powerful enemy of his, is pleased, and more than willing to take advantage. Ikki/Hyoga.


**Disclaimer:**Saint Seiya doesn't belong to me. I'm not trying to make money with this story.

**Warnings:** 18+ material. Yaoi/slash, lemon, violence, meanness, crude language, an evil Ikki and a scared Hyoga. In sum, great stuff. Have fun! (Children, please go look for another fic; this one isn't meant for you.)

**Summary:** A chase across the forest. Prey and hunter. A certain blonde lost his Cosmos and, with it, his strength and powers as a Saint, being left defenseless. A certain brunette, powerful enemy of his, is very happy, and more than willing to take advantage of the situation. Ikki/Hyoga. YAOI, lemon.

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**Hunting Season**

**Capítulo 1 – Flight**

Hyoga ran - no, practically flied amongst the trees at an insane speed, heaving, his heart accelerated... His blood seemed to burn in his veins with the effort. He had to get away from there, couldn't waste a second...

"Lit-tle duc-ky?"

The call, with a long pause between syllables, and charged with provocation, came from nearby behind him. Too close... he needed to go faster...

"The duck hunting season is open!" the yell rang loudly as if meant for the whole forest to hear, in a good-humored tone, a voice that was clear and full of energy. No, the other still didn't show signs of being tired, which was terrible news. "And tonight I'll have duck stew for dinner!"

He couldn't let the other reach him, or it would be the end for him. Hyoga, run!... But he could barely supply enough oxygen to his lungs, that burnt more each minute. He felt dizzy, every few seconds he felt the world spinning, which he tried to ignore. His side hurt with the effort, as if he had been punched. He wouldn't be able to keep this speed for much longer...

"I've changed my mind!" the scornful voice was heard again, sounding too close. "I'm not in the mood for a stew today; roasted duck is much more delicious!"

Maybe he should try and hide, before he collapsed of exhaustion along the way, or the other caught up to him. But where? How? He didn't have time to look around and search for a hiding place, the distraction would make him loose precious moments. If the shelter were obvious, he would be caught. He would probably be caught regardless, his loud panting that he couldn't control would give him away.

"Give up, blondie! If you keep running, you'll only die tired!"

A few minutes ago, Hyoga had left the main forest trail, since it was a too-obvious route. He chose to venture into a random path amongst the trees, one less predictable. He had quickly considered two options: go straight, which would give him better speed, or in zigzag, for a better chance to mislead his chaser. He wound up opting for speed and shot straight like an arrow, but now he was regretting that choice, as it obviously wasn't working.

He could barely hear anything beside his panting, the beats of his own heart (since when did the heart beat in the temples and not in the chest?) and the twigs and dry leaves breaking under his feet. But the noise of a branch breaking on his right was unmistakable. He quickly looked, without stopping, didn't see anything, turned his head to look back, nothing...

And the voice behind him, where was it? Would the other be tired, saving his breath, that's why he had stopped tormenting him? What if he had given up the chase?

No, Hyoga knew that the other was still after him, as sure as he was of his own name. He could practically feel the brunette's breath on his neck. He wasn't there, of course, but something told the blonde that his "hunter" was closer than he thought. _Run, Hyoga!... _he begged to himself for the tenth time. The lack of oxygen didn't help... he realize he was moving slower than before...

"Didn't I tell you that running was useless?" the voice came strong and clear, directly from his front.

The blonde stopped on his tracks suddenly from his crazed dart, the abrupt break almost projecting him forward. His arms waved in broad circles in the air, as if he were in a comic scene of a cartoon, making him feel ridiculous, but this helped him get his balance back and stay on his feet.

Unbelieving, with eyes wide open, he saw that the other was really there, a few feet away from himself. He leaned on a tree trunk nonchalantly, his strong arms crossed lightly over his chest, the leaves of the dark blue shirt stretching to contain those muscles; the strong legs looked comfortable but nicely shaped by the black pants; one foot, clad in a heavy leather boot, leaned irreverently on the trunk. His look was amused, the dark blue eyes shining with malice, accompanied by a little smile that didn't promise anything good.

How did he manage to reach him and pass by him? And, bastard, didn't look a bit tired, after having run all that!

"Ikki!" the blond panted, scared, taking air in big gulps. For a moment he thought in the possibility of turning to the left or right and continue running; his sky blue eyes followed the idea, looking for an escape. But soon he realized that would be useless.

The brunette noticed his intent and his smile broadened, just as the malice evident in his eyes. "How low did we get?" he said. "Before, Hyoga: the Cygnus Saint, a pretty decent knight, not a big deal of course, but I've seen worse. Now, only a plucked runaway little ducky, trying to escape the pan." He uncrossed his arms, un-leaned from the tree and took two steps ahead.

The blonde man involuntarily took two steps back, in panic.

Ikki saw the retreat and burst into laughter, to Hyoga's unending embarrassment. He felt himself blush, both of shame and anger. He wasn't a coward; but not seeing the imminent danger in which he found himself would have been extremely foolish.

"It must be terribly humiliating for you, Hyoga, isn't it?" the other taunted after a few seconds. "Not to be able to fight anymore, to defend yourself... to be fragile like this, unprotected, after being the powerful knight you once were."

The Russian clenched his fists. The jab hit its mark. No insult would ever hurt so much unless it reflected the truth. "I don't see anything humiliating in my situation, Phoenix," he lied. "Why would I feel ashamed of something that was done to me, that it's not my fault? I might not have my powers anymore, but my pride is intact!"

"Oh really?" the other mocked, smiling sideways. "I can see all this pride, with you running away from your opponent like a scared little boy!"

Another jab piercing his heart. Hyoga felt his face growing hot, but he struggled to maintain a cold and controlled façade of usual, trying to save the remains of his hurt pride. He tried a disdainful tone. "Ah Phoenix, hat can I tell you? I know that notions with a minimum of complexity escape this simpleton little mind of yours, but allow me to tell you: adapting to new circumstances is a sign of intelligence, not weakness. If evasion is my best defense at the moment, even it being something that I would never do in a normal circumstance, then well, I am being intelligent. Unlike you. If you think you can talk me into feeling ashamed of this, you are sadly mistaken!"

Hyoga regretted what he said even before he finished his tirade, but the words kept pouring out of his mouth. What was he, _suicidal_, to insult Phoenix like this? Now, from all times?... Damn pride! Oh, he would pay dearly for the impudence... he knew the enemy in front of him too well to expect anything else.

Surely enough, the eyes of the older man shined, except this time they didn't reflect malice, but hate. They all but sparkled. He has his fists clenched tightly, and had stopped to smile in the middle of the tirade. "Spoken beautifully, but this is bullshit. I don't buy it!" Ikki staked towards the blonde.

Hyoga made a superhuman effort to stay still. Each of his instincts screamed for him to run, for him to get out as fast as possible, for him to scream for help, but he knew that none of this would help. It was clear to him that he would die today. He didn't have any means of defending himself or evading the other, and no one would come to save him. But at least he would die with a measure of dignity... however little was left intact. For this reason, he didn't move a muscle, even when the brunette stood right in front of him, invading his personal space in a challenging manner. He forced himself to look him in the eyes, to hide his fear, lift his chin, to maintain a proud and cold demeanor, despite of everything.

"Arrogant and idiotic as always," Ikki snorted and, in a quick movement, grabbed the blonde by the hair, yanking his face to inches of his own.

Hyoga tried to get loose, but the fingers interlaced in his hair imprisoned him tightly, hurt him, seemed to want to yank his hair from the scalp... so he had to resign himself to clench his teeth and hold the other's gaze. A look full of malevolence, that slowly mixed with mockery.

The brunette continued, in a low and dangerous voice. "Imagine, an Ice Saint that lost all of his power, that no longer has enough Cosmos to make a cup of cold water... but has de audacity to insult the feared Phoenix Saint?" With that, he threw a punch in the blonde's abdomen, letting go of his hair.

The Russian bent over in pain, holding his stomach with both hands. He lost visual contact for a moment, but turned his eyes back to the man with bluish hair, before having had time to compose himself, his light blue eyes shining with hate.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ikki spoke with pretense. "I forgot that you no longer has a knight's strength, that now your body is weak like the one of any normal man. A hit that you would have barely felt before, could now be devastating. A simple punch could break your bones, damage something important beyond repair. I must remember to take it easy on you, to be more delicate..." Saying that, he punched the blonde in the face, causing him to stagger backwards. "Like this. Not so strong to disfigure that pretty face or break something; just enough to show you the nothing you have become." He smiled, scornful.

Hyoga covered the struck face with his hand, trying to stare at the other with aggression and confidence, but he felt anything but that. He shook inside with anger, fear, revolt. It was such an affront, too much humiliation! With effort, he ignored both the burning sensation in his face and his precarious situation and, with an enraged cry, charged at the slightly older man, throwing a succession of punches and kicks at him, which would have been extremely powerful blows mere days before. To his consternation, Ikki blocked the majority with his arms and legs, and the few that hit him didn't even seem to make him a bit uncomfortable, let alone hurt him. He felt like a child trying to confront a giant, and froze in the act, realizing his own stupidity too late.

Now Phoenix was going to kill him.

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Continues...

~SS~SS~SS~SS~SS~

A/N: I'm writing this fic in an opposite manner as I'm doing 'The Enemy's Little Brother', which I write in English first, then translate the chapters to Portuguese. Well, 'Hunting Season' is being written for Brazilian eyes first (it's called 'Temporada de Caça'). I'm having much fun with both ways!

I haven't watched Saint Seiya in English, so pardon (and please point out!) any glaring errors.

I haven't seen many Ikki/Hyoga shippers in this fandom - where are you guys?

Don't forget to add a review to let me know what you think - it will make my day!

Mila


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